The judge fixed a plea trial review on October 29 with a provisional trial date was fixed for April 6 next year.

The judge said it was comparatively unusual for a defendant to be granted bail in a murder case but he took into account that the defendant had been on bail since last October until he was charged yesterday morning.

Mullender must live at a bail address in Northumbria and he is not to enter North Wales, apart from to attend court or appointments with his lawyers.

He is not to have any unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16 and he is not to contact any prosecution witnesses.

Conditions allow him to have telephonic, written or electronic contact with his wife, and he will be allowed to have meetings with her on condition they are supervised by social services.

Mullender will be released once he has surrendered his passport and he is to sign on at a police station three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between noon and 3pm.

Mr Hedgecoe said he understood the delay in the case had been in the obtaining of expert medical reports by the prosecution. He said he was concerned the defence should have sufficient time to find the appropriate experts to act for them and to get funding for them to be instructed.

Sean Michael Mullender, 22, being escorted into Mold crown court

The judge ordered that the child’s medical reports should be disclosed to the defence within seven days and the prosecution case should be served on the defence in 28 days.

On Thursday, October 2, 2014, police were contacted by health officials concerned about the circumstances under which the baby was admitted to the Countess of Chester Hospital from his home in Connah’s Quay.

The infant was transferred for further treatment to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool where he died on Saturday, October 4.